Drew Pomeranz, Charlie Blackmon, DJ LeMahieu and Tyler Colvin are not where they want to be. All four believe they have the talent to play, and thrive, in the majors.

But for now, they are plying their trade for the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox. All four are doing it with gusto, intent on proving they belong on the Rockies’ 25-man roster.

Let’s start with Pomeranz. Tuesday night, as the Sky Sox beat Salt Lake 9-3, the big lefty became the first Pacific Coast League pitcher to win four games. He threw six innings, allowing one run on three hits. The lone run came on a fourth-inning home run. He struck out seven, walked three, and induced eight groundball outs. His ERA is a nifty 2.54

All of which raises the obvious question: Why is Pomeranz not in the Rockies’ rotation? I’ve talked to a number of people about this and I keep getting the same answer. The pitches Pomeranz is using to dominate Triple-A hitters — his 93 mph fastball, spike curveball and improving changeup — aren’t being thrown with enough consistency to enable him to succeed in the majors. I’m sure Pomeranz disagrees, but that’s what the Rockies’ brass is thinking.

So where does Pomeranz go from here? I don’t have an answer for that. Right-hander Tyler Chatwood was promoted ahead of Pomeranz when the Rockies needed a fill-in for the injured Jhoulys Chacin. Chatwood was terrific in his last start against the Dodgers, so he’s clearly the next in line if Jeff Francis continues to struggle and the Rockies decided to make a permanent change in the rotation.

Blackmon, hampered by hard-luck injuries that last two years, is hammering the baseball. He went 3-for-5 Tuesday night, raising his average to .397 and extending his hitting streak to nine games. Blackmons’ on-base percentage is .511 and his slugging average is a robust .671. He’s hit three homers, seven doubles and two triples. He’s knocking on the big-league door.

Colvin and LeMahieu are hitting well, too. Colvin, who’s hitting streak stands at 14 games, is batting .312 with four homers and a .354 on-base percentage. LeMahieu’s extended his hitting streak to 10 games and is batting .368.

Double-A Tulsa
The Drillers (13-12) rallied late Tuesday, but lost 7-4 to North Little Rock.
In the early going, outfielder Kent Matthes has been hitting the ball with authority. His .268 average and .317 OBP certainly aren’t eye-popping, but he’s belted three homers and 11 doubles and has a .515 slugging percentage.

High-A Modesto
The Nuts offense continues to struggle. With a 3-1 loss to Visalia Tuesday night, the Nuts’ record tumbled to 9-16. The Nuts scored a California League-low 81 runs through the first 25 games of the season. With 15 strikeouts in Tuesday’s game, Modesto now leads all the minors with 287 strikeouts.

Third-base prospect Trevor Story struck out four times in four at-bats Monday.

The offensive bright spot for the Nuts has been Tyler Massey, who extended his hitting streak to 12 games.
The outfielder is hitting .281.